Disney is putting Rachel Zegler, the star of ‘Snow White’, in a position to not succeed

Disney has opted to tone down its forthcoming debut of the live-action(ish) reimagining of Snow White by hosting a red carpet event devoid of journalists. Initially, this decision may not seem peculiar, as many major studios are increasingly showing a preference for influencers over conventional press. Moreover, with Disney’s trend of revisiting its animated classics through opulent combinations of live-action and computer animation in these remakes, the true star of the show becomes Disney itself.

Disney’s strategy for these projects takes on a recursive, franchise-within-a-franchise approach to filmmaking, resembling more a selective recreation of a Disney theme park than a faithful adaptation of the original films. While it can be exciting to feature renowned names like Emma Watson as Belle or Will Smith as the Genie, these casting choices harken back to the project’s earliest inception, where part of the allure of Alice in Wonderland was witnessing Tim Burton and Johnny Depp inscribing their mark on a beloved tale. Nonetheless, in most cases, the primary focus is on experiencing quintessential Disney enchantment, albeit rejuvenated (despite any staleness in execution). Essentially, it is Disney’s unique brand of magic; at this juncture, celebrities are more of an accessory than a necessity.

This is the direction Disney seems to be counting on, especially as the leads in this specific remake are controversial figures Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot.

Though it’s Gadot who has been outspoken in her support of Israel over the past year and change, it’s Zegler, in particular, who has attracted a lot of ire over the course of the extended Snow White press cycle. Given the general youthful enthusiasm she exudes so often — this is a young woman who jumped at the chance to sing “Rey’s Theme” from the new Star Wars movies and seems ideally cast as a modernized Disney Princess — this might seem bizarre. How exactly has Rachel Zegler become embroiled in any sort of controversy?

The short answer is the internet outrage generator, which must crave new subjects for hour-long YouTube rants now that Star Wars has entered a relatively quiet period. That outrage can be traced back to some pretty innocuous comments Zegler made in 2022 while beginning to promote the film: That the original Snow White (Disney’s first feature cartoon) was not a personal childhood favorite of hers (she explained that it frightened her back then, so she didn’t rewatch it obsessively, and returned to it for the first time in years while making the new movie), and that (separately) the cartoon is “extremely dated when it comes to the idea of women being in roles of power, and what a woman is fit for in the world,” something that would be addressed in the new film. In a separate interview, she further noted that the new version of the story would place more emphasis on Snow White’s growth as a person, and less on the question of whether a prince she doesn’t really know will rescue and marry her.

None of this is especially strange when discussing adapting an 85-year-old movie. If anything, it should be a little encouraging for the prospects of Snow White, because many of the Disney remakes have suffered from their absolute fidelity to the originals, where they follow the stories beat-for-beat yet somehow at greater length and with dimmer, less expressive imagery. The new live-action movie can’t hope to match the innovation and beauty of Disney’s first-ever feature-length cartoon, but the idea that it might offer a more three dimensionalized Snow White character than the trilling, borderline-simpering damsel from the original film doesn’t seem too far-fetched. It seems, in fact, almost mandatory.

But adding Zegler’s supposed disrespect on top of her background (which is Colombian and Polish) and her occasional social media speaking out against things that a lot of people speak out against (Donald Trump; genocide) somehow created the impression among the most literal-minded traditionalists and outrage hucksters that Disney was selling out its rich history in the name of DEI, irreverence, and a particularly outspoken star. “Proper” behavior and appearance from a live-action Disney princess is not really something that grown adults should care about, and most of them don’t, actually, but they’ve made enough noise to help generate a growing tidal wave of bad buzz for the film, which was delayed from 2024 until its upcoming release date of March 21, 2025.

The film now arrives at a point when Zegler has notched the biggest hit of her career with the unexpectedly strong Hunger Games prequel, and also starred in some unexpected flops with the Shazam! sequel and the funny but ignored Kyle Mooney comedy Y2K. Zegler is now well-positioned to absorb some blame if her Disney movie flops, even if the main reason is that the original Snow White isn’t as popular with today’s kids as Moana, Frozen, The Lion King, or any number of others. (Hmm, could there be a reason the lady-forward, less romance-minded Frozen is vastly more popular than Snow White in 2025? Maybe something to do with it actually addressing the stuff Zegler “controversially” said the new Snow White movie would address?)

So what has Disney done to protect its young star? Not much. The company has expended a fair amount of energy in recent years downplaying its more inclusive practices, which of course only serves to make them look more like temporary marketing moves in the first place. Nixing the red carpet only further creates the impression that Zegler is some kind of one-off controversy magnet; a move seemingly designed to protect its stars (and, granted, the potentially more combustible fact that Zegler and Gadot do not agree on the Israel-Palestine conflict) has mostly just generated press about how little faith Disney has in them.

Moreover, Disney has set up younger stars to fail with its entire remake machinery, creating perverse expectations around live-action movies’ fidelity to animated ones, where moments are recreated down to individual shots, sapped of any creativity or life. Literally the only interesting thing about their remake of The Little Mermaid was its Black star, Halle Bailey. Her casting was also the target of far more hate than, say, the lethargically staged musical numbers or janky visual effects. It would probably be better for all involved if Disney created new vehicles to support talented young performers like Bailey and Zegler, rather than saddling them with their past iconography. If Zegler – young and liberal, like plenty of artists – is made to seem out of step with Disney orthodoxy, it’s not because Snow White represents some kind of new radicalism. Quite to the contrary: It’s because Disney’s self-mythologizing is an inherently conservative project, prioritizing safe investments at every turn – and cashing out if its stars step out of line.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.